Do you know roughly how much are the German social insurance deductions? Around 22.05% ER plus 20.68% EE (42.73% total) for a pilot insured with a public scheme and around 13.47% ER plus 10.85% (24.32% total) for a pilot insured with a private scheme.

What is the retention rate in Germany? The retention is around 70-75% for privately insured pilots and 50-55% for compulsory insured pilots with a statutory provider. If you want to discuss joining a private scheme please contact Cathy at matz@insure-invest.de. Disclaimer: Your estimated gross income for the current year must be more than 59400 Euro to be eligible for a private scheme. Basically, your average monthly gross salary from the beginning of the current year must be bigger than 4.950 Euro.

Why is my German payslip different than my Irish one? For a number of reasons. The figures on the German payslip refer to the flying month so January payroll is based on the hours flown in January. On the other hand, the Irish payroll is a mid-month payroll based on the hours flown the month before. So, January payroll is based on the hours flown in December. In addition to that, in Germany you are considered an employee, so only the EE deductions show up on the German payslip.

Are expenses allowable in Germany for social insurance purposes? No. You can use your expenses only to reduce your Irish income tax but not your German social insurance. If you want us to reduce your Irish income tax as much as possible, you should select salary option 1 and keep uploading expenses. Pilots should proactively select option 1 in their OAM account and let us know if they have any problems.

Can I not pay social insurance in Germany? No. You must pay social insurance in Germany if you perform any work activity unless you hold an A1 document from a different European country. Regardless of the length of time you spend in the country and your base status. If we do not hear back from you after 30 days the initial set-up email is sent, you will be compulsory registered with a German public health insurance provider.

Why do I pay the Employer (ER) part of the social insurance in Germany even if I am a "deemed" employee for the German law? Because you are a self-employed director of an Irish limited company as per your contract with McGinley. So, technically you don't have an employer. Your company is your "deemed" employer for the German law but you are a director of your limited company and you own a percentage of the shares. Thus, you are the employer and the employee at the same time, basically.

Where do you pay my social security (pension, unemployment, etc.) and health insurance? If you join the German public health system, all the social security and health insurance payment go through the selected public health insurance provider "Krankenkasse" (ex. AOK, TK, SBK, etc.). If you are privately health insured, on the other hand, usually we pay the social security to AOK Hessen and you pay the health insurance (plus nursing insurance) to your selected private provider (ex. HanseMerkur, ALC Global, etc.).

Why the Deutsche-Rentenversicherung don't have my details yet? Our German consultant transfers the details of the pilots to the German pension authority only once a year in December. Therefore, if they don't have your details now, don't worry. Just wait until January and call them back to confirm.

Can I contact your German payroll consultant directly? No. We have an agreement with a German consultant for the provision of a monthly German payslip for all the pilots but that agreement doesn't include the pilots contacting them directly. Should you continue to do so, the consultant fees will be charged to you immediately.

What is an A1 form? The A1 form certifies which social security legislation applies to the holder of the form. It will generally be needed in situations where you, as an employed or self-employed person, have a connection through your employment or self-employment with more than one EU country.

Should I apply for a German A1 form? We recommend to do it and can do this on your behalf as part of our service. The A1 form is very useful in case you get inspected by the German authorities. By showing a valid German A1 to them, they will be sure that your social insurance is paid in Germany. In addition to that, after you get an A1 you will be able to apply for a E106. The E106 is very important if you have health insurance in Germany but you are not resident in Germany as you will be entitled to healthcare in your country of residence as well as Germany.

I am already privately health insured in another country, do I still need a German health insurance plan? Yes, it is compulsory to have a German health insurance plan in Germany.